Sequester's Bite: House Dem. Report Details U.S. Cutbacks to Critical Canada-U.S. Spending Priorities

BTBObserver shines light on a recent report documenting sequestration's impact on federal agencies, highlight cuts that affect the Canada-U.S. bilateral relationship:

The House Committee on Appropriations Democrats released a report detailing the considerable impact sequestration is having on important federal programs. 

Below are excerpts from the must-read report pertaining to the Canada-U.S. relationship:

Airport safety and wait times: …Sequestration reduced Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) FY 2013 appropriated dollars by approximately $600 million, which required CBP to reduce overtime for CBP Officers (CBPO) beginning in early March. These cuts have already led to significant increases in wait times at air ports of entry. (Page 5).

Overall, USCG expects to have approximately 20-50 percent fewer assets in the offshore patrol areas for migrant and drug interdiction at various times over the next several months. The Coast Guard expects to submit a reprogramming request in the next few weeks that will mitigate some of the impacts, but will likely not completely restore planned interdiction patrols. (Page 6).

Ports of Entry: As noted above, sequestration reduced Customs Border Protection Officer (CBPO) overtime availability at the Nation’s ports. This slows the movement of goods across the border and impedes U.S. capacity to facilitate and expedite cargo, adding costs to the supply chain and diminishing global competitiveness.

Land border truck wait times have increased significantly.

• Del Rio and Mariposa both reported wait times of 120 minutes; normal wait times average 15 minutes for both locations.
• Pharr Cargo reported wait times of 105 minutes; normal wait times average 15 minutes.
• Detroit Fort Street Cargo reported wait times of 60 minutes; normal wait times average 5 minutes.
• Other POEs with wait time increases: Nogales, Peace Bridge, Progreso, and Rainbow Bridge. (Pages 18-19).

Maritime cargo also faced delays: LA/Long Beach reported container release delays of 144 hrs (6 days) and Port Everglades and Miami Seaport reported container delays up to 48 hours. And cruise ships saw the effects of reduced CBPO overtime. Los Angeles and Port Everglades reported increased processing times of 6.5 hours; normal processing time is 4 hours.

Sequestration will also affect Border Patrol coverage between ports of entry, but DHS is still attempting to find additional savings. CBP expects to submit a reprogramming notification soon to mitigate some of these impacts and to prevent the need to furlough CBPOs for an estimated 3-4 days. (Pages 18-19).

Read the entire report here.